Board of Directors
Roger Lubeck,
President
Sandy Baker,
Immediate Past President
Robbi Sommers Bryant,
Vice President
Marilyn Lanier,
Vice President
Malena Eljumaily,
Treasurer
Adele Layton,
Secretary
Judy M. Baker
, Membership Chair
Skye Blaine
, Newsletter Poetry Editor
Joelle Burnette
, Website Editor
Pamela Heck,
Conference Volunteers
Linda L. Reid
, Speaker Chair
Jeane Slone,
Author Launch
Chairs and Editors
Elspeth Benton
, Registration Team
Les Bernstein
, Anthology Poetry Editor
Skye Blaine
, Newsletter Poetry Editor
Robbi Sommers Bryant,
Anthology Editor
Fran Claggett-Holland
, Poetry Anthology Editor
Pamela Fender
, Hot Summer Nights
Sher Gamard
, Salon Coordinator
Marie Judson
, Critique Groups
Jeanne Jusaitis
, Author Support
Susan Littlefield
, Historican
Margarite Olmos,
PR Internal
Linda L. Reid
, Writers Circle
Deborah Taylor-French
, Author Support
Deborah Walton,
PR Director/ Newsletter Editor
Natasha Yim
, Contest Chair
Redwood Writers Meetings
are held the second Sunday of the month at the
2777 Fourth Street,
Santa Rosa
Board meetings take place before the general meeting, beginning at 12:30. You are welcome to join us at any time.
THIS MONTH'S MEETING
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12
2:00-4:30 pm
Writing Editing Marketing —
It's All One Process
with M.M. Allen
Arrive at 2 p.m. to register and network before the general meeting, which runs from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
We ask for a small fee of $5 from members and $10 from non-members to cover costs.
NEXT MONTH'S MEETING
Sunday, September 9
2–4:30 p.m.
Hot Topic Roundtable
SEE FLYER AT END OF NEWSLETTER.
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SEE YOU AT THE FAIR
Submitted by Roger Lubeck
We are excited to remind you that once again Redwood Writers will have a booth (tables) at the Sonoma County Fair August 2- August 12. There are a few slots still available for members to sell their books and for volunteers to assist the club as a greeter or help at the RW merchandise table. If you are interested, go to
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f4aabaa29aaf94-2018
.
Authors wanting to promote and sell their books to thousands of local folks need to click the sign-up button in the first column on the form to pay the $22 fee. Then be sure to click the sign-up and submit buttons at bottom of the form.
Our booth at the fair provides a wonderful opportunity for Redwood Writers to inform the community about our group. It is a way to create awareness, make new friends and contacts, and sell books. For members selling their own books, the fair provides a unique and potentially lucrative selling opportunity. You can meet and work with RW members you might not know and best of all, it is fun!
If you are selling books at the fair, consider the following:
- You must have a seller’s permit: http://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub107/
- Bring bookmarks and/or business cards.
- Be prepared to give away books, too (e.g. buy two and get one free).
- You can bring or buy lunch and snacks, but food must be eaten outside the building.
- If you are working multiple days, you can store books in a nearby safe space.
- All participants get free fair passes but must pay for parking.
- Arrive at 10:30 a.m. by the Brookwood Gate to set up.
- Day managers will provide information and guidance.
- Breakdown is 5:30 p.m.
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BOARD NOTES AND NEWS
Board Agenda for August 12, 2018
As a reminder, our board meets from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. just before our monthly meetings. Members are always welcome to sit in on a board meeting.
12:30 p.m. Call to Order – Roger Lubeck
Approval of minutes from prior meeting.
12:35 p.m. Board Reports
- Treasurer’s Report: Malena Eljumaily
- Membership Report: Judy Baker
12:50 p.m. Committee Reports
- Prose Anthology and Launch Party: Linda Reid and Robbi Sommers Bryant
- Website: Joelle Burnette
- Board Retreat (Aug 18) Roger Lubeck
1:30 p.m. New Business
1:45 p.m. Adjourn
Monthly Meeting Agenda for August 12, 2018
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Author Support
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Networking
2:30 p.m. Welcome - Roger Lubeck
2:35 p.m. Chair Announcements
Membership Judy Baker
Salon Sher Gamard
Anthology Launch Party
Writers World
Other chair announcements
Member Announcements
Memoir Contest Winners
3:00 p.m. Break ~ Snacks, Networking & Book Sales
3:15 p.m. Speaker M.M. Allen
Writing — Editing — Marketing - It's All One Process
4:30 p.m. Adjourn
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IMPORTANT DATES
Details Below
2nd Annual
"BOOK IT” TO THE SONOMA COUNTY FAIR
Aug. 2 – 12
10:30 - 5:30
Sonoma County Fair Kraft Building
August Monthly Meeting
Sunday, August 12
2:00-4:30
Flamingo Resort Hotel
Salon
Wednesday evening,
August 22
6:30-9:30
Rohnert Park
Anthology Launch Party
Saturday, August 25
2:00-5:00
Home of Harry and Linda Reid
September Monthly Meeting
Sunday, September 9
2:00-4:30
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
2 - 4:30 p.m.
Flamingo Hotel, Empire Room
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M.M. Allen's
career started as an English teacher, which led to communications at the university level. In 1999, she published a children’s book,
Let’s Play Ball
, and soon began working in consulting and marketing with Dream Flight Productions on musical CDs for children, and then with Walt Disney Buena Vista Records, where they produced
The Floppy Sleep Game,The Inside Out Blessing Game,
and
The
Christmas Dream
. A middle grade fantasy,
Wishapick Tickety Boo
, and
The Black
Trunk
, were published in 2015 in collaboration with composer Deborah Wynne, who created a companion musical CD to accompany the book. Together, they received awards from The Readers Favorite Award and the Moonbeam Gold Award for Book and Music. She has an extensive background in marketing, working with a variety of for-profit and nonprofit businesses.
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Redwood Writers
at the
SONOMA COUNTY FAIR!
Thursday, August 2
to Sunday, August 12
Booth Hours:
10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Booth Location:
E.C. Kraft Building
In partnership with the Sonoma County Fair, Redwood Writers members have the exclusive opportunity to read from their works and
sell their books
at this year's county fair August 2-12! This is a great honor for Redwood Writers and a great opportunity for members to connect with thousands of fair-goers from near and far.
Once again, Redwood Writers will have a booth
all 11 days of the Sonoma County Fair!
This is an opportunity for
RW MEMBERS ONLY!
Participating in the Fair is a HUGE benefit to both Redwood Writers and members.
We make friends and develop contacts. We get lots of exposure!
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ANTHOLOGY
LAUNCH PARTY!
Join fellow members for an afternoon of readings, food, fun and friends -- and to congratulate Editor Robbi Sommers Bryant.
Date: Saturday, August 25
Time: 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Place: Harry and Linda Reid’s
home & garden
Potluck…Bring your favorite dish to share.
Wine, beer and tea provided.
(Free event)
Directions to Reid’s will be emailed upon your RSVP. Books will be available for $12.
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Calling all night owls!
This salon is in the evening!
“Travel Tales!"
WEDNESDAY EVE., AUGUST 22
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
in Rohnert Park
Bring your stories and poems to share.
Readings are five minutes.
Potluck dinner!
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NATASHA YIM
Profiled by Tina Deason
You may have received emails from Natasha Yim. Maybe you've seen her at a workshop, read her blog, chatted with her at a writing conference, or bought one or more of her books. You may even refer to her as “the writer who publishes children’s books.”
So, what else is there to know about Natasha Yim? She is a published author who has written two biographies,
Cixi The Last Dragon Empress of China
and
Sacajawea of the Shoshone
, as well as several children’s picture books. She is currently working on two novels for middle grade readers: an historical fiction adventure story set in early 1800 China featuring a real-life Pirate Queen and a second book about an 8th grade American/Chinese girl who meets a Caucasian guardian angel, which sets the scene for culture clashing.
I could mention her satisfaction with writing 10-minute, one-act plays because, unlike publishing a book, which may take years to accomplish, she could see one of her short plays on stage in as little as two months. Natasha submitted plays to festivals and contests which have been acted out all over the world from The Sixth Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa to San Francisco, Los Angeles and as far away as New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. Presently you might find her working on new plays closer to home with Mendocino Community College.
However, something more identifies Natasha as an accomplished writer. Persistence and perseverance. “A hard thing about writing is that publishing is a waiting game. Perseverance is important. Not everyone will like your work, but it really only takes one person -- and finding that one person will get you published. As Richard Bach (
Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
said, 'A professional writer is an amateur who did not quit.’” And Natasha adds, “Never give up, keep on trying and believe in your work.”
I asked Natasha about her blog and she told me a gem. She wrote a blog on how to write a ten-minute play and one of the Redwood Writers, treasurer Malena Eljumaily, read the blog. She then wrote a play and won the Redwood Writer’s Short Plays contest, though Malena had never before written a play. Natasha says, “Don’t be afraid to try something new. You never know what you might be really great at.”
Natasha joined Redwood Writers in 2011 after experiencing support and activities from the group. When Redwood Writers hosted a playwriting contest, Natasha entered and was one of six winners. Today Natasha Yim is a children’s author who enjoys writing picture books, and middle grade and young adult fiction. This year, Natasha is the Contest Chair for the Writing Middle Grade and Young Adults contest for Redwood Writers. Submissions open September 2018, and you can find all the details on our website.
Natasha lives in Ukiah with her husband and children. She writes pieces for regional magazines and newspapers, including Mendocino Arts magazine. To see Natasha’s publications and more about her craft, visit her website
natashayim.com
or be sure to say hello to her at one of the monthly meetings.
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A SONNET FOR EURYDICE
Jon Jackson
Recall the time we swam beneath the wave. We never
thought of air as something we might need, and never lived in
time. The sea was all we breathed, and all that Nature ever gave.
And then we went our sep’rate ways. Oh, woe!
Yes, you to Hades’ secret lair, and I, while playing lyric
songs, consumed, did die a thousand deaths, each one another low.
But, when I came, at last, my life so gone, and you fell
back along our trek, you sang
out Hermes’ name! Oh, he it was who turned
to look! And, as he fell, we then moved on together to the
light. Then strings did hang above the fire…oh, where they nicely burned!
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Crushed
Pamela Fender
You asked to see me.
I came. You rejected me,
told me to leave now.
My heart cracked like a bolt of
lightning. I’ve moved on at last.
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CLEMATIS
Patrice Deems
violet maidens
lean outward
open
yearning
to bathe in their lover’s warmth
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WOW!
LOOK AT EVERYTHING
WE'VE PACKED INTO
THIS ONE MONTHLY MEETING.
Sunday, September 9
2–4:30 p.m.
FLAMINGO HOTEL
HOT TOPIC ROUNDTABLE
Please join us.
Redwood Writers is for everyone, whether you're an accomplished author or poet, or just wondering if writing is right for you.
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Writers News from Around the Bay
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Writer’s World 2018 –
A World of Resources for Writers and Authors
Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA) is hosting the
2018 Writer’s World event on
Saturday, September 8, 9:30 am-4:30pm at
Dominican University
in San Rafael. It is sponsored, in part, by Redwood Writers, Pro Audio Voices and Book Marketing Mentor.
Writer’s World provides a one-stop solution for the indie-author and anyone interested in learning more about independent publishing (sometimes referred to as self-publishing). Pulling together a wealth of professional organizations, vendors, and resources to help writers take their next steps, Writers World includes a wide range of valuable educational workshops, an always-popular Q&A session, and a keynote address by IBPA’s (Independent Book Publishers Assn.) Lee Wind entitled "'I Published a Book' is Not a Marketing Plan."
To register or learn more,
click here
.
Early bird pricing through August 12
th is $40 for BAIPA members and $50 for guests. After August 12th, price goes up to $65 per person.
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Come to Sonoma County Writers Camp!
August 8 – 12, 2018 | Beg, Borrow, Steal: What We Can Learn from Different Genres
Baffling mysteries, chilling tales of horror, alternate universes, speculative futures, heart-pattering romance, heart-thumping thrillers, wrenching tragedy, biting satire, magical realism. All of these offer insights into the magic of story that we can use to propel our own stories in unexpected ways. The great writers beg, borrow and steal from everything that intrigues them–and in this camp we are going to do the same.
October 10 – 14, 2018 | Scene Making: The Essence of Storytelling
Scene is what hooks us: what happened? Who did that? Scene makes the reader lean into the story, refuse to put down the book, dream the tale we put on the page. This camp will explore what “show, don’t tell” really means in the books we love–and in our own writing. Create unforgettable scenes that pull your reader into the story and don’t let go.
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If you have news of interest to our members, please submit copy and a photo if you wish by the 15th of the month prior to
editor@redwoodwriters.org
.
Editor reserves the right to accept and/or edit. Thank you.
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Our mailing address is The Redwood Writer, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
Redwood Writers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Redwood Writers Meetings
General membership meetings are held on the second Sunday of each month (moves one week ahead if a holiday) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa, located at
2777 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.
Registration starts at 2 p.m.
Copyright © 2018 Redwood Writers. All rights reserved.
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